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Mc Kenna and Kierans win BRC R2 and Pirelli Star Driver Title’s

Daniel Mc Kenna and co-driver Arthur Kierans have been crowned the BRC Rally 2 champions with the Scanbitz Ltd and Ravenol Motoroil supported Ford Fiesta R2 at the final round of the BRC, Rallye Sunseeker in Poole, Dorset last weekend. Daniel sealed the championship with a mature controlled drive to finish second in the R2 category on the event, doing more than enough to take a hard fought title from event winner Steve Rokland. This was the duo’s sixth podium of the year in as many events, the only R2 crew to manage this amazing feat, which stands testament to the speed and consistency of this championship winning crew.

Ten tough stages and eight other R2 crew stood between the young Scotshouse native and the title before the event started and after the Friday recce, Daniel and Arthur knew that a top five finish was enough to guarantee him the title, although this was easier said than done. The plan was to start with a steady safe pace and monitor all other R2 drivers times and make no mistakes to take the championship. For added safety the crew decided on covering all bases, carrying extra tool’s and spare tyres in case of emergency which would obviously affect the cars performance but ultimately would give them a better chance of a top 5 finish. Thankfully as things turned out they didn’t have to call on any of their extra baggage.

The Monaghan men went second fastest on the opening stage directly behind Rokland and remained in this position throughout the event, driving well within their capabilities to consolidate a podium place and stay ahead of the chasing pack. However with slippery conditions on the stages for much of the day and the top five R2 cars never being separated by any more than a minute and thirty seconds, one mishap could have spelled disaster for Daniel’s championship hopes. Another problem was with three passes on some of the stages they became extremely rough and rutted which really took its toll on the car, but the reliable Fiesta R2 was more than able for the challenge. The Scanbitz/Ravenol Ireland backed fiesta even managed to set a fastest stage time on stage 8 of the event despite driving in safe mode.

Daniel is absolutely delighted with the result and the championship season as a whole, here is what he had to say about his wonderful achievement. “At the beginning of the season I couldn’t have dreamed for the championship to work out like this for us. To be on the pace with all these great drivers in the BRC, take four wins, a second and a third is unbelievable. I really need to thank my main sponsors Scanbitz and Ravenol Ireland along with the many other companies and people who helped sponsor this success story. To my dedicated service crew for their help all year, especially Sharkey Motorsport for preparing a very reliable car throughout the season. I would also like to thank Motorsport Ireland and the Irish Sports Council for their great advice in conjunction with the Billy Coleman Award, Arthur Kierans for a great job all year on the notes and all of my friends and family for all of their support and good luck” As part of Daniels prize for winning the R2 class, the crew recieve a free entry into this years Rally GB which is the final round of the World Rally Championship based in Wales.

The icing on the cake for Daniel came on Tuesday of this week when he was also awarded the Pirelli Star Driver award for his exploits in this years British Rally Championship. With no time to celebrate after his R2 championship win, it was a quick shift to North Wales on Sunday to compete in this prestigious competition on Monday and Tuesday where he was to compete against five other nominees for a prize of a full BRC season in a Citroen DS3 R3T backed by Pirelli. Thankfully the hard work by both Daniel and Arthur paid off when it was announced on Tuesday afternoon that Daniel had been awarded the Pirelli Star Driver award and can now look forward to another season in the British Rally Championship with the help of Pirelli in the Citroen DS3.

Another competition for Daniel this week is the BRC Live Media Trophy shootout held at World Rally preparation experts, Prodrive’s facility in Banbury on Wednesday. Daniel along with 5 other nominees will be interviewed where the winner will get to test drive JCW Mini S2000 which is another amazing opportunity in conjunction with the BRC.

Monaghan Motor Club would like to congratulate Daniel and Arthur on their amazing feat of being crowned British Rally Championship R2 category winners and also to Daniel for being crowned 2013 Pirelli Star Driver which undoubtedly could not have been achieved without the help of Arthur Kierans and all his dedicated team. Well done lads.